Customized speech generation

ABSTRACT

Various approaches enable automatic communication generation based on patterned behavior in a particular context. For example, a computing device can monitor behavior of a user to determine patterns of communication behavior in certain situations. In response to detecting multiple occurrences of the certain situation, a computing device can prompt a user to perform an action corresponding to the pattern of behavior. In some embodiments, a set of speech models corresponding to a type of contact is generated. The speech models include language consistent with patterns of speech between a user and the type of contact. Based on context and on the contact, a message using language consistent with past communications between the user and contact is generated from a speech model associated with the type of contact.

BACKGROUND

Many people are increasingly relying upon portable devices to store,track, and update various types of information and handle various typesof tasks. As devices become ever more intelligent, and offer additionaltypes of functionality, it becomes increasingly undesirable to continueto have to access different applications and repeatedly manually entersimilar types of information. Further, device users often communicatewith different types of people in different ways. It generally is up toa user to ensure that a communication uses the proper tone, terminology,and phrasing for the type of recipient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C illustrate an example communication suggestion thatcan be presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate another example communication suggestionthat can be presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate another example communication suggestionthat can be presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate example communication suggestions thatcan be presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrate example communication suggestionsthat can be presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example communication suggestion that canbe presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example situation wherein position information isused to generate a communication in accordance with at least oneembodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for generating a communication inaccordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example process for generating acommunication in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate front and back views of an examplecomputing device that can be used in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of an computing device that canbe used in accordance with various embodiments; and

FIG. 12 illustrates an environment in which various embodiments can beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent disclosure may overcome one or more of the aforementioned andother deficiencies experienced in conventional approaches to managingcommunications in an electronic environment. In particular, variousembodiments enable communication generation on behalf of a user based atleast in part on patterned behavior learned for the user in variouscontexts. For example, a computing device can monitor user behavior todetermine patterns of communication behavior in various situations.After detecting or identifying multiple occurrences of a type ofcommunication in a particular situation, the computing device canattempt to define a pattern of behavior or the user in that type ofsituation. When the computing device is subsequently in that type ofsituation again, the computing device can prompt a user to perform anaction corresponding to the pattern of behavior. For example, if a usermakes a call or sends a text each weekday when within a given distanceof a geographical location, such as within a mile from a workplace, thedevice can prompt the user whether the device should initiate that callor text the next time the computing device is in that location.

In some embodiments, software executing on a computing device can alsoattempt to monitor patterns of speech used by the user in variouscontexts or situations. Certain embodiments can generate a set of speechmodels, where each speech model corresponds to a type of recipient. Eachspeech model can include language that is consistent with patterns ofspeech typically used between a user and a recipient or a type ofrecipient. For example, a user might use different words and phrasingwhen communicating with a relative than when communicating with aco-worker. Based at least in part upon the context and/or recipient of acommunication, a communication might be automatically generated thatuses language for an appropriate pattern of speech, where that patternof speech is consistent with past communications between the user andthe type of recipient.

Various types of information can be used to develop patterns of speechfor certain types of recipients and/or contexts. For example, at leastsome embodiments can utilize various social networking and communicationinformation to generate, and train or refine, different patterns ofspeech. The embodiments can also use various social, communication,and/or behavior information to determine when communications are sentand/or the context in which those communications are sent. Thecommunications might involve speech, text, or other such information. Atleast some embodiments then can automatically create at least somewhatpersonalized messages to be sent to various recipients, where thosemessages are triggered by particular circumstances. When a speechcommunication is generated, a speech engine can utilize pastinteractions on social networks, email, text messages, and voicecommunications to build communication profiles of both how a usercommunicates to various contacts and how the contacts respond to theuser through various means of communication. These past communicationscan be used to seed the speech engine in order to generate subsequentmessages that are natural and tailored to how the user actually speaksto different people or contact groups. In various embodiments, themessages are customized based on separating contacts with similarcharacteristics into various contact groups, such as business, friend,or family, for example, to enable contextualized interactions.

The ability to automatically generate communications according tovarious patterns of speech, or speech profiles, for various recipientsand/or contexts can provide various advantages over conventionalcommunication approaches. For example, a speech engine discussed hereincan automatically generate a speech communication without the userhaving to verbally dictate or record a message. When generating an emailor text message to a contact labeled as a business contact, a speechengine might use a business contact speech profile built partly bymining data from past business communications. When generating an emailor text message to a contact labeled as a friend, on the other hand, thespeech engine might use a friend speech profile, or speech profileparticular to that specific friend. The language contained in thebusiness speech profile would likely be more conservative andprofessional as compared to the language contained in the friend speechprofile. For example, a speech engine discussed herein might uselanguage examples from business emails to generate an email for a workmeeting invite and, conversely, the speech engine might use languageexamples from a user's social feeds when setting up a party for afriend.

Various other applications, processes and uses are presented below withrespect to the various embodiments.

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C illustrate an example communication suggestionsequence that can be presented on a display 102 of a computing device100, such as a smartphone or tablet computer. In this example, acommunication 104 is received, which in this case relates to a phonecall from a client. The client device can utilize contact information orother appropriate data to determine that the call is from a client orbusiness type of user. If the client is unable to answer the call, suchas when the client is in a meeting, the device 100 can generate a prompt106 for the user on a display screen 102, as illustrated in FIG. 1B,asking whether the user wants to text the user that the user will returnthe caller's call at a later time. The device can determine, using theuser's calendar, location, and/or other such information, that the useris in a meeting. Based at least in part upon the context (e.g., in ameeting) and the type of recipient or type of contact (e.g., a client orbusiness contact), the device 100 can ask the user whether the userwants to send a text to that client that the user is in a meeting andwill call back later. As discussed, a speech model for client orbusiness contacts can have been generated based on past communicationsbetween a user and one or more people labeled as, for example, businesscontacts. The communications could have involved phone calls, videochats, text messages, email messages, and the like. In this example, theuser can select not 110 to send a text message in response to the missedcall or the user can select yes 108 to send a message. Based on theappropriate speech model for a business type of recipient, a message 112can be generated, shown in FIG. 1C. The message can then beautomatically sent to the client. As illustrated, the message isgenerated using language or wording that is appropriate for a businesscontact, as determined using a business contact speech model or othersuch profile. In this example, the recipient can feel as if therecipient received a personalized message, which reads, “Sorry Icouldn't take your call. I am in a meeting and will call as soon as themeeting has concluded,” even though the user only pressed a singlebutton or selected a single option.

In various embodiments, a speech or communication model can be generatedfor any group of people or for an individual. FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2Cillustrate an example communication suggestion presented on a display202 of a computing device 200. In this example, the user is once againin a meeting and receiving a call 204, in this case, from his wife, asshown in FIG. 2A. Based on past communications, a communication modelcan be generated that uses information about the way a user communicateswith a particular contact or group of contacts. The communication modelscan be derived from patterns of speech or word usage, such as particularword or phrases, typically used when the user communicates with aparticular contact. In this example, a communication model is, or hasbeen, generated from dialog patterns or patterns of speech typicallyused when the user communicates with his wife. As in the previousexample, the computing device is aware that the user is in a meeting bymining or accessing the user's calendar application and, in response,generates a text message reply to his wife taking the context of themeeting into account. Thus, in FIG. 2B, the computing device 200 promptsthe user with a question 206 to ask whether the user “would you like totext Wife you are in a meeting?” In this example, the user can select no210 in response to the missed call or the user can select yes 208 tosend the message 212, shown in FIG. 2C, to his wife using dialog orwording from the communication model stored for his wife that reads “HeyHoney, I'm in a meeting and will call you in a bit.”

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate an example communication suggestion on adisplay 302 of a computing device 300, in accordance with oneembodiment. This example illustrates another example of how a computingdevice can generate new speech and customize responses to differentpeople while the user is in a meeting or another such context. In thisexample, the user is receiving a call 304 from a friend, as shown inFIG. 3A. Based on past communications between the user and his friend, aspeech profile can have been generated that is derived from patterns ofspeech or word usage typically used when the user communicates with hisfriend or a larger group of friends. As in the previous two examples,the computing device is aware that the user is in a meeting and inresponse, generates a text message reply to his friend that takes thefact that the user is in a meeting into account. Thus, in FIG. 3B, thecomputing device 300 prompts the user with a question 306 to ask whetherthe user “would you like to text Friend you are in a meeting?” Onceagain, the user can select no 310 in response to the missed call or theuser can select yes 308 to send the message 312, shown in FIG. 3C, tohis Friend using language or wording from the speech profile stored forhis friend or friend category that reads “Hey Bro, what's up?”

In some embodiments, the user can have some amount of control over thetype of message that is to be sent. For example, as illustrated in FIGS.4A, 4B, and 4C, the device can generate different potential messages tobe sent for a particular context and/or recipient. In this example, theinitial communication is the same but the recipients are different typesof contacts. For each type of contact, the device can generate two (oranother appropriate number of) potential messages that can be sent viaspeech, text, or other such communication methods. The differentmessages are illustrated on the display screen 402 of an examplecomputing device 400. FIG. 4A illustrates an example situation where auser receives a text message 404 from his Boss asking the user when hewill arrive (“When will you be here?”). Since the user's Boss is abusiness contact, a formal or professional type of response isgenerated, according to an appropriate speech model, based at least inpart on the formality of the relationship and/or professional dialogused in past communications. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the computingdevice 400 generates two replies, the first response 406 stating “I willbe there shortly,” and the second response 408 stating “I will be therein 15 minutes, please pardon the delay.” There is also a “decline”selection 410 in the event the user does not want to reply or does notdeem a response appropriate. FIG. 4B illustrates two example responses(414, 416) to the same message 412 (“When will you be here?”), but fromthe user's wife in this case. In this example, the first response 414states “I will be there soon honey,” and the second response 416 states“I got stuck in the office. Call you in a bit.” There is also a“decline” button 418. Likewise, FIG. 4C illustrates two exampleresponses (422, 424) to the same message 420 (“When will you be here?”),but, this time, from the user's friend. In this example, the firstresponse 422 simply states “Chill out,” and the second response 424states “Sorry Bro, soon.” There can also be a “decline” button 426 as inthe last two examples.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D illustrate three example generated responsemessages to receiving a phone call, in accordance with variousembodiments. FIG. 5A shows a user receiving a phone call on a computingdevice 500. In this example, the computing device 500 includes an“answer” selection 504, a “Call back later message” selection 506, and a“decline” selection 508 and FIGS. 5B, 5C and 5D each illustrate anexample generated “Call back later message” for callers from differentcontact groups. The user, in this example, can select the “answer”selection 504 to take the call, select the “Call back later message”selection 506 to have a message generated using a speech model of pastcommunication patterns sent to the type of caller, or select the“decline” selection 508 to send the call to voicemail. FIG. 5Billustrates an example when the caller is the user's wife and the usercould not or has chosen not to answer. In this example, the user hasselected the “Call back later message” selection 506 and the message 510that states “I'll call you in a bit love. I can't answer at the moment”is sent as a text message to his wife. FIG. 5C illustrates an examplewhen the caller is a user's client and the user selected the “Call backlater message” selection 506 to have the message 512 that states “SorryI can't take your call, I will call you back shortly” is sent as a textmessage to the user's client. FIG. 5D illustrates an example when thecaller is the user's friend and the user has selected the “Call backlater message” selection 506 to have message 514 that states “Can'tanswer bro. I'll ring you in a bit” sent as a text message to the friendcontact.

In various embodiments, a pattern of behavior for the specific contextis generated in response to detecting multiple occurrences of aparticular communication type in a particular context. A level ofconfidence to prompt a user to perform an action corresponding to thepattern of behavior is determined in response to subsequent detectionsof the particular context associated with the pattern and, if the levelof confidence is greater than a predetermined threshold, the user isprompted by the computing device for an input to send a messagecorresponding to the pattern of behavior, in various embodiments.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example situation of generating a message606 corresponding to a pattern of behavior. In this example, a patternof behavior is generated in response to detecting multiple occurrencesof a user texting his wife upon leaving work for the evening, as may bebased on location, time of the day, day of the week, and other suchinformation. More particularly, upon registering a text message sent toa particular contact, in this example, the user's wife, multiple timesat 6:00 pm on a weekday upon crossing a particular geographic point, forexample, a pattern of behavior is generated and the contents of the textmessage are stored to a communication profile for the user's wife. Inthis example, the user's context is monitored by taking into account thetime of day and the user's location using a positioning system basedupon global positioning system (GPS) data, cellular signal or Wi-Fitriangulation, or any other appropriate mechanism. Thus, upondetermining a match between a user's current context and a storedpattern of behavior within a reasonable margin of error or to areasonable level of confidence, the user is prompted by the computingdevice 600 for an input to send a message corresponding to the patternof behavior. In this example, the prompt 604 states “You have just leftwork, would you like to message your wife that you are on your wayhome?” In response to a positive input from the user, a message 606 isautomatically generated using language and/or wording from previousmessages sent under similar circumstances stored in the communicationmodel for the user's wife. In this example, the message 606 states “I'mon my way home Honey. Need me to pick up anything?” The affectionatenickname “honey” used to refer to the user's wife being stored based onits usage in pervious messages as well as the question referring topicking “up anything” being based on the user habitually asking his wifeif he should grab anything from the store on his way home, for example.Alternatively, the message 606 may not necessarily be automaticallygenerated based on contextual queues, but be generated upon receiving aninput from the user, such as a verbal input, for example. In oneexample, the user speaks to the computing device 600 through aconversational interface saying “Text wife” and the computing device600, aware of the user's context through various sensors, generates themessage 606.

In connection with the example discussed with respect to FIG. 6, FIG. 7illustrates an example map 700 that can be used to track and/or inferuser location, movement, destinations, and other such information toassist in determining a context for a communication in accordance withvarious embodiments. It should be understood that devices, applications,and services do not necessarily think in terms of maps, but may think interms of positions, coordinates, routes, and/or other such information,and maps such as that in FIG. 7 may only be visual representations of auser's location. For purposes of explanation the description will referto a selection of maps, but it should be understood that such renderingsare used for purposes of explanation with respect to various aspects ofthe described embodiments.

In various embodiments, position and communication information for auser are monitored over time. One or more algorithms can be executedagainst the position and communication information in an attempt torecognize patterns or other repeating occurrences in the user's movementand/or position to assist in determining a context for variouscommunications and communication patterns. For example, the map 700 ofFIG. 7 illustrates a map of the streets near a user's home. There is anexample route 710 illustrated on the map 700 that the user normallytakes on his way home 706 during the week, a route 712 that the useroften takes when going to the gym 708, and a route 714 the user takeshome 706 from the gym 708. As discussed with respect to FIG. 6, the userregularly sends a text to his wife when he leaves work 702. In oneexample, the user sends his wife a text telling her he is going to thegym 708 instead of coming straight home 706 and the evenings he does notgo to the gym 708, he texts her to ask whether she needs him to pick upanything at the supermarket 704. After detecting multiple occurrences ofthese communications in these specific contexts, a pattern of behavioris generated. For example, when the user leaves work 702 on route 712,the device can automatically generate a message to the user's wifenotifying her that the user is going to the gym 708 based on the user'slocation/movement and time of day. Similarly, when the user leaves work702 on route 710, the device can automatically generate a message to theuser's wife asking her whether she would like him to pick up anythingfor dinner from the supermarket 704 based on the user'slocation/movement and time of day. A message notifying the user's wifethat he is on the way home 706 from the gym 708 could also be generatedbased in part on the user traveling homeward along route 714.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process 800 for automatically generating acommunication based on patterns of behavior, in accordance with variousembodiments. It should be understood that, for any process discussedherein, there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performedin similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope ofthe various embodiments unless otherwise stated. In this example,communication and context information are monitored 802 and acommunication pattern between the user and a contact group, or type ofcontact, is identified 804. The communication information can bemonitored by mining textual information, such as a user's emails, socialnetwork feeds, text messages, and the like, and by analyzing voice databy extracting language content from the user's conversations. Asmentioned, such information can be used to generate one or more speechpatterns, speech profiles, speech models, etc. The context informationcan be monitored by taking various motion and positioning sensor data(i.e. GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, and the like) into account alongwith the time of day or day of the week, for example, as well as bymining data from a calendar application, email, various task lists, andthe like. The monitored communication and context information can residelocally and be stored on the computing device, or the information can bestored remotely in a profile management database, or a combinationthereof, for example. As discussed above, the dialogs are customized bysegmenting contacts into various contact groups, such as business,friend, or family, for example, to enable natural contextualizedinteractions. In this example, a communication model corresponding tothe contact group is generated 806. Generating the communication modelscan include monitoring user communication behavior over time to adapt tochanges or to compensate for variations in the behavior. Additionally,it would be advantageous to base the communication models specificallyon past communications between the user and contacts from respectivecontact groups, such as messages generated by the user and messagesreceived from contacts, because if communications generated by a speechengine are additionally used in developing the models, the system willbe feeding back on itself and the generated messages will not beconsistent with a user's communication patterns as time goes on. In thisexample, a context appropriate response is generated using wording orlanguage from the communication model associated with the contact group808. In this example, the user is prompted for an input to send thegenerated response 810. If the user does not want to send the response,the response is deleted 811. However, if the user wants to send theresponse, the user can provide an input, which can be a voice inputprovided to a conversational interface or a touch input provided to atouch display screen of the computing device, for example, to send theresponse to the recipient 812. In this example, a user may include averbal instruction along with the voice input. For example, the usercould say “warm response” to have a warmer response generated or say“formal response” to make the generated message more formal.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process 900 for automatically generating acommunication based on patterns of behavior, in accordance with variousembodiments. As discussed above, it should be understood that, for anyprocess discussed herein, there can be additional, fewer, or alternativesteps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, withinthe scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated. In thisexample, a communication in a specific context is detected 902. Apattern of behavior for the specific context is generated 904 inresponse to detecting multiple occurrences of the communication in thespecific context. To detect multiple occurrences of a communication in aspecific context, communication information is monitored by miningtextual information, such as a user's emails, social network feeds, textmessages, and by using voice data by analyzing the content of a user'sconversations as described above. The context information can bemonitored by taking various motion and positioning sensor data intoaccount along with a time of day, day of the week or by mining data fromvarious applications, such as a calendar application, email, task lists,and the like. This information, for example, may be cached locally in acache memory, stored remotely, or locally stored information can beblended with server updates. In this example, a level of confidencecorresponding to the pattern of behavior is determined 906. Referring tothe example of FIG. 6, the level of confidence for the pattern ofbehavior of the user texting his wife upon leaving work would beconsidered high given the fact that, in that example, the user texts heralmost every day under those circumstances. This and other consistent orhabitual communication behaviors would be considered high relative toinfrequent communications. If the level of confidence at least meets apredetermined value, the user is prompted to provide an input 908. Ifthe user does not want to send the communication, the communication isdeleted 909 or the user provides the input, which can be a voice inputprovided to a conversational interface or a touch input provided to atouch display screen of the computing device, for example, to send thecommunication 910.

In addition, various embodiments utilize a conversational interface fora computing device. A conversational interface can include an automatedassistant to facilitate user interaction with the device and to assistthe user with local and/or remote services. In various embodiments, theautomated assistant engages with the user in a conversational mannerusing natural language dialog to obtain information or perform variousactions. The automated assistant could call services that interface withfunctionality and applications on the computing device to performfunctions and operations that may otherwise be initiated using aconventional user interface.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate front and back view respectively of anexample computing device 1000 that can be used in accordance withvarious embodiments. Although one type of computing device (e.g., asmart phone, an electronic book reader, or tablet computer) is shown, itshould be understood that various other types of electronic devices thatare capable of determining, processing, and providing input can be usedin accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. The devices caninclude, for example, notebook computers, personal data assistants,cellular phones, video gaming consoles or controllers, and mediaplayers, among others.

In this example, the computing device 1000 has a display screen 1002(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) element) operable to display imagecontent to one or more users or viewers of the device. In at least someembodiments, the display screen provides for touch or swipe-based inputusing, for example, capacitive or resistive touch technology. Such adisplay element can be used to, for example, enable a user to provideinput by pressing on an area of the display corresponding to an image ofa button, such as a right or left mouse button, touch point, etc. Thedevice can also have touch and/or pressure sensitive material 1010 onother areas of the device as well, such as on the sides or back of thedevice. While in at least some embodiments a user can provide input bytouching or squeezing such a material, in other embodiments the materialcan be used to detect motion of the device through movement of apatterned surface with respect to the material.

The example computing device can include one or more image captureelements for purposes such as conventional image and/or video capture.As discussed elsewhere herein, the image capture elements can also beused for purposes such as to determine motion and receive gesture input.While the computing device in this example includes one image captureelement 1004 on the “front” of the device and one image capture element1012 on the “back” of the device, it should be understood that imagecapture elements could also, or alternatively, be placed on the sides orcorners of the device, and that there can be any appropriate number ofcapture elements of similar or different types. Each image captureelement may be, for example, a camera, a charge-coupled device (CCD), amotion detection sensor, or an infrared sensor, or can utilize anotherimage capturing technology.

The computing device can also include at least one microphone 1006 orother audio capture element capable of capturing audio data, such as maybe used to determine changes in position or receive user input incertain embodiments. In some devices there may be only one microphone,while in other devices there might be at least one microphone on eachside and/or corner of the device, or in other appropriate locations.

The device 1000 in this example also includes at least one motion- orposition-determining element 1008 operable to provide information suchas a position, direction, motion, or orientation of the device. Theseelements can include, for example, accelerometers, inertial sensors,electronic gyroscopes, electronic compasses, and GPS elements. Varioustypes of motion or changes in orientation can be used to provide inputto the device that can trigger at least one control signal for anotherdevice. The example device also includes at least one communicationmechanism 1014, such as may include at least one wired or wirelesscomponent operable to communicate with one or more computing devices.The device also includes a power system 1016, such as may include abattery operable to be recharged through conventional plug-inapproaches, or through other approaches such as capacitive chargingthrough proximity with a power mat or other such device. Various otherelements and/or combinations are possible as well within the scope ofvarious embodiments.

In order to provide functionality such as that described with respect toFIGS. 10A and 10B, FIG. 11 illustrates an example set of basiccomponents of a computing device 900, such as the device 1000 describedwith respect to FIGS. 10A and 10B. In this example, the device includesat least one processor 1102 for executing instructions that can bestored in at least one memory device or element 1104. As would beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the device can includemany types of memory, data storage or computer-readable storage media,such as a first data storage for program instructions for execution bythe processor 1102, the same or separate storage can be used for imagesor data, a removable storage memory can be available for sharinginformation with other devices, etc.

The device typically will include some type of display element 1106,such as a touch screen, electronic ink (e-ink), organic light emittingdiode (OLED) or liquid crystal display (LCD), although devices such asmedia players might convey information via other means, such as throughaudio speakers. As discussed, the device in many embodiments willinclude at least one image capture element 1108, such as one or morecameras that are able to image a user, people, or objects in thevicinity of the device. In at least some embodiments, the device can usethe image information to determine gestures or motions of the user,which will enable the user to provide input through the device withouthaving to actually contact and/or move the device. An image captureelement also can be used to determine the surroundings of the device, asdiscussed herein. An image capture element can include any appropriatetechnology, such as a CCD image capture element having a sufficientresolution, focal range and viewable area, to capture an image of theuser when the user is operating the device.

The device, in many embodiments, will include at least one audio element1110, such as one or more audio speakers and/or microphones. Themicrophones may be used to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such asvoice recognition, digital recording, etc. The audio speakers mayperform audio output. In some embodiments, the audio speaker(s) mayreside separately from the device.

The device can include at least one additional input device 1112 that isable to receive conventional input from a user. This conventional inputcan include, for example, a push button, touch pad, touch screen, wheel,joystick, keyboard, mouse, trackball, keypad or any other such device orelement whereby a user can input a command to the device. These I/Odevices could even be connected by a wireless infrared or Bluetooth orother link as well in some embodiments. In some embodiments, however,such a device might not include any buttons at all and might becontrolled only through a combination of visual and audio commands suchthat a user can control the device without having to be in contact withthe device.

The example device also includes one or more wireless components 1114operable to communicate with one or more computing devices within acommunication range of the particular wireless channel. The wirelesschannel can be any appropriate channel used to enable devices tocommunicate wirelessly, such as Bluetooth, cellular, or Wi-Fi channels.It should be understood that the device can have one or moreconventional wired communications connections as known in the art. Theexample device includes various power components 1116 known in the artfor providing power to a computing device, which can include capacitivecharging elements for use with a power pad or similar device asdiscussed elsewhere herein. The example device also can include at leastone touch- and/or pressure-sensitive element 1118, such as a touchsensitive material around a casing of the device, at least one regioncapable of providing squeeze-based input to the device, etc. In someembodiments this material can be used to determine motion, such as ofthe device or a user's finger, for example, while in other embodimentsthe material will be used to provide specific inputs or commands.

In some embodiments, a device can include the ability to activate and/ordeactivate detection and/or command modes, such as when receiving acommand from a user or an application, or retrying to determine an audioinput or video input, etc. In some embodiments, a device can include aninfrared detector or motion sensor, for example, which can be used toactivate one or more detection modes. For example, a device might notattempt to detect or communicate with devices when there is not a userin the room. If an infrared detector (i.e., a detector with one-pixelresolution that detects changes in state) detects a user entering theroom, for example, the device can activate a detection or control modesuch that the device can be ready when needed by the user, but conservepower and resources when a user is not nearby.

A computing device, in accordance with various embodiments, may includea light-detecting element that is able to determine whether the deviceis exposed to ambient light or is in relative or complete darkness. Suchan element can be beneficial in a number of ways. In certainconventional devices, a light-detecting element is used to determinewhen a user is holding a cell phone up to the user's face (causing thelight-detecting element to be substantially shielded from the ambientlight), which can trigger an action such as the display element of thephone to temporarily shut off (since the user cannot see the displayelement while holding the device to the user's ear). The light-detectingelement could be used in conjunction with information from otherelements to adjust the functionality of the device. For example, if thedevice is unable to detect a user's view location and a user is notholding the device but the device is exposed to ambient light, thedevice might determine that it has likely been set down by the user andmight turn off the display element and disable certain functionality. Ifthe device is unable to detect a user's view location, a user is notholding the device and the device is further not exposed to ambientlight, the device might determine that the device has been placed in abag or other compartment that is likely inaccessible to the user andthus might turn off or disable additional features that might otherwisehave been available. In some embodiments, a user must either be lookingat the device, holding the device or have the device out in the light inorder to activate certain functionality of the device. In otherembodiments, the device may include a display element that can operatein different modes, such as reflective (for bright situations) andemissive (for dark situations). Based on the detected light, the devicemay change modes. Using the microphone, the device can disable otherfeatures for reasons substantially unrelated to power savings. Forexample, the device can use voice recognition to determine people nearthe device, such as children, and can disable or enable features, suchas Internet access or parental controls, based thereon. Further, thedevice can analyze recorded noise to attempt to determine anenvironment, such as whether the device is in a car or on a plane, andthat determination can help to decide which features to enable/disableor which actions are taken based upon other inputs. If voice recognitionis used, words can be used as input, either directly spoken to thedevice or indirectly as picked up through conversation. For example, ifthe device determines that it is in a car, facing the user and detects aword such as “hungry” or “eat,” then the device might turn on thedisplay element and display information for nearby restaurants, etc. Auser can have the option of turning off voice recording and conversationmonitoring for privacy and other such purposes.

In some of the above examples, the actions taken by the device relate todeactivating certain functionality for purposes of reducing powerconsumption. For example, the computing device could stop receivinggeographic location data when the battery drops below a predeterminedpower level or charge threshold. The predetermined level could be, forexample, below 25% full, depending on battery capacity, efficiency, andthe like, but could be higher or lower in various embodiments. It shouldbe understood, however, that actions can correspond to other functionsthat can adjust similar and other potential issues with use of thedevice. For example, certain functions, such as requesting Web pagecontent, searching for content on a hard drive and opening variousapplications, can take a certain amount of time to complete. For deviceswith limited resources, or that have heavy usage, a number of suchoperations occurring at the same time can cause the device to slow downor even lock up, which can lead to inefficiencies, degrade the userexperience and potentially use more power.

In order to address at least some of these and other such issues,approaches in accordance with various embodiments can also utilizeinformation such as user gaze direction to activate resources that arelikely to be used in order to spread out the need for processingcapacity, memory space and other such resources.

In some embodiments, the device can have sufficient processingcapability, and the imaging element and associated analyticalalgorithm(s) may be sensitive enough to distinguish between the motionof the device, motion of a user's head, motion of the user's eyes andother such motions, based on the captured images alone. In otherembodiments, such as where it may be desirable for the process toutilize a fairly simple imaging element and analysis approach, it can bedesirable to include at least one orientation determining element thatis able to determine a current orientation of the device. In oneexample, the at least one orientation determining element is at leastone single- or multi-axis accelerometer that is able to detect factorssuch as three-dimensional position of the device and the magnitude anddirection of movement of the device, as well as vibration, shock, etc.Methods for using elements such as accelerometers to determineorientation or movement of a device are also known in the art and willnot be discussed herein in detail. Other elements for detectingorientation and/or movement can be used as well within the scope ofvarious embodiments for use as the orientation determining element. Whenthe input from an accelerometer or similar element is used along withthe input from the camera, the relative movement can be more accuratelyinterpreted, allowing for a more precise input and/or a less compleximage analysis algorithm.

When using an imaging element of the computing device to detect motionof the device and/or user, for example, the computing device can use thebackground in the images to determine movement. For example, if a userholds the device at a fixed orientation (e.g. distance, angle, etc.) tothe user and the user changes orientation to the surroundingenvironment, analyzing an image of the user alone will not result indetecting a change in an orientation of the device. Rather, in someembodiments, the computing device can still detect movement of thedevice by recognizing the changes in the background imagery behind theuser. So, for example, if an object (e.g. a window, picture, tree, bush,building, car, etc.) moves to the left or right in the image, the devicecan determine that the device has changed orientation, even though theorientation of the device with respect to the user has not changed. Inother embodiments, the device may detect that the user has moved withrespect to the device and adjust accordingly. For example, if the usertilts their head to the left or right with respect to the device, thecontent rendered on the display element may likewise tilt to keep thecontent in orientation with the user.

As discussed, different approaches can be implemented in variousenvironments in accordance with the described embodiments. For example,FIG. 12 illustrates an example of an environment 1200 for implementingaspects in accordance with various embodiments. As will be appreciated,although a Web-based environment is used for purposes of explanation,different environments may be used, as appropriate, to implement variousembodiments. The system includes electronic client devices (1202, 1204,1206, 1208) which can include any appropriate device operable to sendand receive requests, messages or information over an appropriatenetwork 1210 and convey information back to a user of the device.Examples of such client devices include personal computers, cell phones,handheld messaging devices, laptop computers, set-top boxes, personaldata assistants, electronic book readers and the like. The network caninclude any appropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, acellular network, a local area network or any other such network orcombination thereof. The network could be a “push” network, a “pull”network, or a combination thereof. In a “push” network, one or more ofthe servers push out data to the client device. In a “pull” network, oneor more of the servers send data to the client device upon request forthe data by the client device. Components used for such a system candepend at least in part upon the type of network and/or environmentselected. Protocols and components for communicating via such a networkare well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. Communicationover the network can be enabled via wired or wireless connections andcombinations thereof. In this example, the network includes theInternet, as the environment includes a Web server 1212 for receivingrequests and serving content in response thereto, although for othernetworks, an alternative device serving a similar purpose could be used,as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The illustrative environment includes at least one application server1214 and a data store 1216. It should be understood that there can beseveral application servers, layers or other elements, processes orcomponents, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which caninteract to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriatedata store. As used herein, the term “data store” refers to any deviceor combination of devices capable of storing, accessing and retrievingdata, which may include any combination and number of data servers,databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard,distributed or clustered environment. The application server 1214 caninclude any appropriate hardware and software for integrating with thedata store 1216 as needed to execute aspects of one or more applicationsfor the client device and handling a majority of the data access andbusiness logic for an application. The application server providesaccess control services in cooperation with the data store and is ableto generate content such as text, graphics, audio and/or video to betransferred to the user, which may be served to the user by the Webserver 1212 in the form of HTML, XML or another appropriate structuredlanguage in this example. The handling of all requests and responses, aswell as the delivery of content between the client devices (1202, 1204,1206, 1208) and the application server 1214, can be handled by the Webserver 1212. It should be understood that the Web and applicationservers are not required and are merely example components, asstructured code discussed herein can be executed on any appropriatedevice or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.

The data store 1216 can include several separate data tables, databasesor other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating toa particular aspect. For example, the data store illustrated includesmechanisms for storing content (e.g., production data) 1218 and userinformation 1222, which can be used to serve content for the productionside. The data store is also shown to include a mechanism for storinglog or session data 1220. It should be understood that there can be manyother aspects that may need to be stored in the data store, such as pageimage information and access rights information, which can be stored inany of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additionalmechanisms in the data store 1216. The data store 1216 is operable,through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from theapplication server 1214 and obtain, update or otherwise process data inresponse thereto. In one example, a user might submit a search requestfor a certain type of item. In this case, the data store might accessthe user information to verify the identity of the user and can accessthe catalog detail information to obtain information about items of thattype. The information can then be returned to the user, such as in aresults listing on a Web page that the user is able to view via abrowser on the user devices (1202, 1204, 1206, 1208). Information for aparticular item of interest can be viewed in a dedicated page or windowof the browser.

Each server typically will include an operating system that providesexecutable program instructions for the general administration andoperation of that server and typically will include computer-readablemedium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of theserver, allow the server to perform its intended functions. Suitableimplementations for the operating system and general functionality ofthe servers are known or commercially available and are readilyimplemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly inlight of the disclosure herein.

The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environmentutilizing several computer systems and components that areinterconnected via communication links, using one or more computernetworks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equallywell in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than areillustrated in FIG. 12. Thus, the depiction of the system 1200 in FIG.12 should be taken as being illustrative in nature and not limiting tothe scope of the disclosure.

The various embodiments can be further implemented in a wide variety ofoperating environments, which in some cases can include one or more usercomputers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of anumber of applications. User or client devices can include any of anumber of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptopcomputers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular,wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable ofsupporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a systemcan also include a number of workstations running any of a variety ofcommercially-available operating systems and other known applicationsfor purposes such as development and database management. These devicescan also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals,thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicatingvia a network.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar tothose skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, OSI, FTP,UPnP, NFS, CIFS and AppleTalk. The network can be, for example, a localarea network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, theInternet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network,an infrared network, a wireless network and any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of avariety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTPservers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers and businessapplication servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executingprograms or scripts in response requests from user devices, such as byexecuting one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one ormore scripts or programs written in any programming language, such asJava®. C, C# or C++ or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python orTCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also includedatabase servers, including without limitation those commerciallyavailable from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase® and IBM®.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled inthe art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includescomputerized devices, each such device can include hardware elementsthat may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, forexample, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one inputdevice (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch-sensitive displayelement or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a displaydevice, printer or speaker). Such a system may also include one or morestorage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices andsolid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) orread-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memorycards, flash cards, etc.

Such devices can also include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device) and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including software, such asapplets) or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such asnetwork input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, orportions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by asystem device. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, aperson of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/ormethods to implement the various embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: undercontrol of one or more computer systems configured with executableinstructions, storing dialog patterns for a type of communicationbetween a user and a type of recipient, the dialog patterns including atleast one of words or phrases from one or more past communicationsbetween the user and one or more recipients of the type of recipient;generating a dialog profile for the type of recipient based at least inpart upon the dialog patterns; determining at least one contextassociated with the user sending a communication to a recipient of theone or more recipients of the type of recipient, the at least onecontext being associated with at least one behavioral pattern of theuser; determining a subsequent occurrence of the at least one context;adjusting the dialog profile associated with the recipient to includedialog patterns associated with the at least one context; generating atleast one subsequent communication to be sent to the recipient based atleast in part on the dialog patterns associated with the dialog profileof the recipient and the at least one context.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: enabling theuser to approve the at least one subsequent communication before sendingthe at least one subsequent communication to the recipient.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the type of recipient isat least one of a business contact, a friend contact, or a family membercontact.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: accessing textual information to determine a dialog pattern,the textual information being accessed from at least one of emailmessages, social network feeds, text messages, instant messages, chatsessions, or voice data.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the at least one context comprises one or more of: a location, atime of day, an occurrence of an event, or a subject.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one contextis determined by one or more of using at least one Global PositioningSystem (GPS) sensor, determining an occurrence of an event, determininga time of day, or determining a day of a week.
 7. A computer-implementedmethod comprising: under control of one or more computer systemsconfigured with executable instructions, maintaining communication dataassociated with a contact type based at least in part upon pastcommunications between a user and one or more contacts associated withthe contact type, the communication data including: a type ofcommunication sent to the one or more contacts of the contact type bythe user in a context, the context being associated with at least onebehavioral pattern of the user; and a dialog pattern associated with thetype of communication in the context, the dialog pattern including atleast one of words or phrases from one or more past communicationsbetween the user and the one or more contacts associated with thecontact type; generating a dialog profile for the contact type based atleast in part upon the dialog patterns; identifying a current context asbeing related to the context; adjusting the dialog profile associatedwith the one or more contacts to include dialog patterns associated withthe context; and generating a communication for the current contextbased at least in part upon the dialog patterns associated with thedialog profile and the context.
 8. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 7, further comprising: prompting the user before at least one ofgenerating the communication or sending the communication.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the type ofcommunication is at least one of a text message, an instant message, ashort message service message, a chat message, or an email message. 10.The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the contact type isat least a business contact group, a friend group, or a family group.11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the currentcontext is determined using at least one of a location, a time of day,an occurrence of an event, or a particular subject.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising: receivingvoice input from the user to approve the communication.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein maintainingcommunication data includes: monitoring information sent by the user incommunications to the one or more contacts associated with the contacttype; monitoring context information related to the communications; andstoring the information sent by the user in the communications and thecontext information.
 14. A computer-implemented method comprising:monitoring information in a communication sent by a user; monitoringcontext information related to the communication, the contextinformation being associated with at least one behavioral pattern of theuser; identifying a communication pattern between the user and one ormore contacts associated with a contact group based at least in partupon at least one of the information or the monitored contextinformation, the communication pattern including at least one of wordsor phrases from one or more past communications between the user and theone or more contacts associated with the contact group; generating acommunication model based at least in part on the communication pattern;and in response to receiving a communication from a contact associatedwith the contact group adjusting the communication model to includedialog patterns associated with the context information, and generatinga context-appropriate response based at least in part on thecommunication pattern associated with the communication model associatedwith the contact group and the context information.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the communication is atleast one of a phone call, a text message, an instant message, a shortmessage service message, a chat message, or an email message.
 16. Acomputing device, comprising: a device processor; a display screen; anda memory device including instructions operable to be executed by theprocessor to perform a set of actions, enabling the computing device to:maintain communication data associated with a contact type based atleast in part upon past communications between a user and one or morecontacts associated with the contact type, the communication dataincluding: a type of communication sent to the one or more contacts ofthe contact type by the user in a context, the context being associatedwith at least one behavioral pattern of the user; and a dialog patternassociated with the type of communication in the context, the dialogpattern including at least one of words or phrases associated with oneor more past communications between the user and the one or morecontacts associated with the contact type; generate a dialog profile forthe contact type based at least in part upon the dialog patterns;identify a current context as being related to the context; adjust thedialog profile associated with the one or more contacts to includedialog patterns associated with the context; and generate acommunication for the current context based at least in part upon thedialog patterns associated with the dialog profile and the context. 17.The computing device of claim 16, further comprising: prompt the userfor an input to at least one of generate the communication or send thecommunication.
 18. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the currentcontext is determined by at least one of determining a location using aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) sensor or determining an occurrence ofan event by accessing data associated with at least one of a calendar oremail application of the computing device.
 19. The computing device ofclaim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor,further enabling the computing device to: in response to receiving aninput from the user, send the communication, wherein the input is atleast one of a voice input provided to a conversational interface or atouch input provided to the display screen of the computing device. 20.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: maintaincommunication data associated with a contact type based at least in partupon past communications between a user and one or more contactsassociated with the contact type, the communication data including: atype of communication sent to the one or more contacts of the contacttype by the user in a context, the context being associated with atleast one behavioral pattern of the user; and a dialog patternassociated with the type of communication in the context, the dialogpattern including at least one of words or phrases associated with oneor more past communications between the user and the one or morecontacts associated with the contact type; generate a dialog profile forthe contact type based at least in part upon the dialog patterns;identify a current context as being related to the context; adjust thedialog profile associated with the one or more contacts to includedialog patterns associated with the context; and generate acommunication for the current context based at least in part upon thedialog patterns associated with the dialog profile and the context. 21.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, whereinmaintaining the communication data includes monitoring information sentby the user in communications to the one or more contacts associatedwith the contact type, monitoring context information related to thecommunications, and storing the information sent in the communicationsand the context information.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 20, wherein the instructions when executedfurther cause the processor to: enable the user to approve thecommunication before sending the communication to a recipient.